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Defense Wins Championships

There are many clichés in sports.Some make sense, and some don’t.But one cliché that has been proven time and
time again is “defense wins championships.”It’s true in all sports, but it is especially true in the National
Football League.Teams with high-powered
offenses have occasionally made it to the Super Bowl, but far more often than
not, they come away without the Lombardi Trophy.Patriots fans need look no further than the
2007 team’s loss to the New York Giants as a shining example.

Given that, the 2017 New England Patriots, dead last
in the NFL in total defense after four weeks, are in serious trouble. The defense may have taken a step backward in
the most recent loss to the Carolina Panthers.
Cam Newton, coming off a 17 for 26, 0 TD, 3 INT performance the previous
week against a bad New Orleans defense, threw for 316 yards with three
touchdowns against the Patriots. By
comparison, Newton’s passer rating against New Orleans was a putrid 43.8. Against the Patriots – 130.8. Newton is a tremendous athlete and physical
specimen, but he is not a quarterback that is anywhere near a 130.8
rating. That is how bad this Patriot
defense has become.

The play of the secondary was once again the glaring
weakness of the defense. The defense has
not yet been able to correct the communication issues in the secondary that
have plagued them since the opening night loss to Kansas City. Carolina hit on six passes greater than 24
yards, and most were completed without a Patriot jersey within 15 yards of the
receiver.

After the loss, high-priced free agent corner back Stephon
Gilmore spoke directly to the issue when he said “Communication. Have to get better on the communication. I have to get better on communication.” Every Patriot fan knew this after game
one. The problem should be corrected by
game four. To make matters worse,
Gilmore was flagged for two hands-to-the-face penalties on third down which
extending Panther drives when they should have been off the field.

The worst of the two penalties came with just over two
minutes remaining in the game which negated a Deatrich Wise sack that would
have forced the Panthers to punt. All
the momentum the Patriots had built in erasing a two touchdown fourth quarter
Carolina lead was lost with the penalty.
After the Patriots had scored on their last two drives to come back from
a two touchdown deficit, was there any doubt Tom Brady would not have gotten
the team into field goal range with two minutes left? Mental mistakes and costly penalties may have
been the norm from Gilmore’s days as a Buffalo Bill, but they most definitely
do not fit the Patriots’ “Do Your Job” mentality. Malcolm Butler was benched briefly after he
got off to a poor start this season, and his play has improved since returning
to the starting lineup. Gilmore could be
filling that vacancy in Bill Belichick’s dog house after his play this week.

How do the Patriots correct the problems in the
secondary? If they have not been able to
correct the problem in four weeks, can they do it in three days before playing
the Buccaneers on Thursday night? Not
likely. When teams get off to
historically bad starts such as this, someone usually gets fired. It won’t be the Head Coach, and likely will
not be Defensive Coordinator Matt Patricia.
This brings the focus on the coaches in the defensive secondary, one of
which has a very familiar name. Steve
Belichick, son of Bill, is the Patriots’ Safeties Coach. Would Bill Belichick dismiss his son? This dynamic should generate significant media
scrutiny if the secondary continues to struggle.

The Patriots have scored 129 points in four games, second
in the NFL, yet they are only 2-2 and could easily be 1-3. The Buffalo Bills rank 29th in
total offense and 23rd in points score, yet they sport a 3-1 record
thanks to the defense, which has allowed the fewest points in the league. On Sunday they shut down the high-powered
Atlanta Falcons offense to move into first place in the AFC East. Defense may not make good highlights, but it
does win football games. And championships.

Follow Bill on Twitter @BTravers_BSoT.

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